Opioids

Opiods are a highly addictive class of drugs that include Morphine, Codeine, Heroin, Methodone, Vicodin, and Fentanyl. The Opioid Epidemic has resulted in the death of thousands of Americans. Opioid abuse can lead to addiction, homelessness, interpersonal conflict, health conditions, and a decline in mental health. 

Once someone is addicted to opioids, they will often seek more potent versions of the drug to get the same effect. For example, someone who uses heroin may start using fentanyl because it's stronger. This increases the risk of overdose and death. Once someone is addicted to opioids, it's incredibly difficult to stop using them. 

How do you treat opioid addiction?

Opioid addiction is best treated by a combination of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and counseling. 

1. Medication-assisted treatment- Medication assisted treatment is when a person is prescribed an opioid agonist to help reduce cravings. Examples of MAT include Methodone and Suboxone. 

2. Counseling- Counseling can help a person understand why they are using Opioids and help them replace opioid use with more effective coping skills. 

If you are interested in receiving MAT, speak with your doctor! 

The Opioid epidemic in the united states

The Opioid Epidemic began with prescription opioids—notably OxyContin. The American People were lied to and told that OxyContin had an addiction rate of less than 2%. This was false and lead to millions of prescriptions being written for OxyContin. In turn, people became addicted. When OxyContin was changed to make it less likely to be abused, people turned to Heroin. Today, Heroin is less popular and being replaced by Fentanyl, which is 50x stronger.